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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The boys and I happened upon the Easter Bunny during our errands today. Normally I'm not really a fan of such characters - Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, Mascots. They give me the heebie jeebies. But I put on my big girl pants and let the boys go visit. And they loved it. Whew! That bunny wore him out!

So, we decided to keep the Easter party going with some good old fashioned egg dipping.Now here's the thing. I'm all for family fun and memories and experiences. But "eek, don't touch the hot eggs!" and "no! you're hands don't go in the dye!" and "oooh!, try to put the eggs in gently!" and "hey, don't feed that to your brother!"

The whole operation was stressing me out! So, we got an egg in each cup and were done with it.

But once the boys went to bed...Mama had some fun! I found some stickers and went to it.Batik-y! I love it!Before.During.After!And a starry one for Amos!Mama likes.

Monday, March 29, 2010

In my words, The Make Shift Revolution blog is attempting to reverse the "Moms must do, be, have it all, at the expense of peace and happiness" trend. It dispels the myth of Supermom and celebrates the real mom. It highlights moms who are doing things differently and creatively, in ways that work for them. Founder of this blog, my friend Mary Allison, calls them Mothers of Invention. Genius, no?

In her words, Mary Allison says of the blog:

"when i was raised in a culture, influenced so heavily by women’s progress and the promise that women could “have it all” (a fulfilling career, a joyous family life, and time for self, others, and matters of the spirit), ...the superhero existence required for such fullness of life were not what i had pictured. i am a full-time mother and a part-time minister, whose partner is as supportive financially, domestically, and emotionally as he can possibly be. even so, i confess that if this chaotic and often isolating juggling act is the picture of “having it all,” then i no longer want it all.

there is such a vast territory between the ultra-traditional women’s roles of long ago and the ultra-idealistic standards for women’s success that are still prized by our culture and dangled before us like distorted fun house mirrors. who lives in this territory? are there women out there who are blazing a new path to a more balanced existence, who are replacing these old models for motherhood with the creative hum-drum of their daily lives?

it is my hunch that many wonderful, creative women live in this territory, and i am hereby making it my job to highlight as many of them as i can. it is my hope that by putting our stories together, we could go from creating healthier lives for ourselves, to creating a healthier culture of motherhood for the world."

Now that's revolutionary.

My friend Mary Allison (that's her to the left), I am honored to know you and to be reading your work of honesty, kindness and brilliance. I am spreading the word of this revolution to everyone I know. What a gift you have given us!

Now, ahem, to toot my own horn. It just so happens that I am today's Mother of Invention on the Make Shift Revolution Blog. Check me out!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

I think I put the blogpost cart before the horse. So, let's go back a step. Let me introduce myself.

I am Jessa. Second sister of 4. Wife of The Fella for dangerously close to ten years now. I have lived a migratory life, but am currently nestled in Colorado, while The Fella works on his PhD. We're content here, but could be anywhere in 5 years.

I am the happy Mama to two of the sweetest little wonderboys on the planet and I spend my days in stitches at their antics. They are two and a half and uh, a half.

I have a Bachelors in Communication. It's practical and I have used it for real jobs, which I guess is the point. I have a Master of Fine Arts in Pottery (which I promise is a real thing). Until October 2008 I was a full time potter with work in over 40 galleries across the U.S. You can see the work of that season here. More on that later I'm sure.

In October 2008 - my elder boy child got mobile. Until that point I did Decker-Smith Pottery with him in tow. In fact, on my way to the hospital to birth him, I stopped to unload my kiln. Whilst in labor. Contractions and all.

After he was born, I just kept at it. I strapped him to my body and went back to the wheel. Looking back, I'm amazed that year didn't kill us both.

But mobility broke the camel's (that's me) back. Thank goodness.

In October 2008 I decided to give us a break. Two short months later, confirmed on my husband's birthday, we discovered we would welcome another baby in the coming year. So it just made sense to extend my hiatus and put Decker-Smith Pottery on the back burner.

And welcome him we did. Sweet Baby A, the little mouse, is a ball of love and he has added so much joy to our days.

So now I scratch the crafty itch in other ways. Lots of 'em. But more often than not I sew. I started when E-man was about 10 months old with the simple, one seam pants seen above, which I still make. But now they have enough dorky matching home sewn outfits. They're set. So it's time to send some of that handmade goodness out into the world.

It just seemed natural to start Happily Home Sewn the blog in conjunction with starting Happily Home Sewn the Shop.

What you'll find here is the chronicles of our crafty adventures. You might come across some ideas you want to try. And I hope you'll send me some of yours too. You'll see our successful projects, and some screw ups I'm sure. I hope you'll see how creating teaches and nurtures me and my boys, and maybe even get inspired.

So. Welcome! Let me know who you are and what you think. I'd love to know who I'm talking to, if anybody.

Spring in Colorado is a big ol' tease. Two nice days...eight inch snow fall. Sixty eight degrees one day...school's canceled the next. Head to the park wearing flip flops in the morning...throw on your parka and snow boots in the evening to check the mail.

So, in preparation (and pleading) for the permanent arrival of Spring...I am engaging in the following symbolic acts:

1) I started this blog today, because Spring is for new things, right? Coincidentally:2) I opened at Etsy shop for my home-crafted goodies. You can find it here. It contains mostly my sewn creations, but keep checking back for new things because things are just heating up over there (much like the temperature outside, hopefully).2.1) I started Happily Home Sewn the blog and etsy shop because I've entered the Springtime of mother-of-two-hood. Meaning, the fog of having a new baby is beginning to clear, inspiring and allowing me to dabble in enjoyable ventures like crafting, blogging, and etsying.3) The moment the mercury rises above 55 I change my entire family into summer clothing.4) Picnics, picnics, more picnics.5) My 2.5 year old, who shall henceforth be referred to as E-Dizzle and I spent three days crafting springy wreaths for our doors.This ain't our first rodeo. We know that a vat of almonds and some nose picking are required to complete such a project.Spoiler Alert - See that? That's what this blog is going to be all about - learning through craft...and some other ways too hopefully.You too can make some spring for your doors! I got these wreath ideas from two fabulous crafty Mamas whose blogs I read.

A tutorial for the larger one can be found here on the hilarious, craftily inspiring, and most recently miraculously surprising Secondsister Suaviloquy (see her exciting newest post here).The smaller one blossomed (pun intended) from this holiday wreath blogged about by another crafty Mama who inspires me.Don't let those 8 inches of snow fool you. It's time the ice skates came down.Ta Da!

Cast of Characters

Jessa - The Mama: That's me. I'm the crafty one. I spend my days with Dizzy, Fidget, and Hazel and we have one heckuva good time.

Eric - The Fella: He's my lobster. He's just sweet enough to be crafty when pressed, so you'll see some glimpses of him here. But, he's got a full time job and is a full time PhD student, so truly, just glimpses.